With the Chevron payout in danger, a girl has to make a living.
Read the whole thing from Daniel Greenfield:
Kerry Kennedy, RFK Jr.'s sister crashed her Lexus into a truck and then went on driving after reportedly being under the influence of Ambien, which she claims that she took accidentally. Her defense is that she's a human rights activist. And by human rights activist, I mean she's rather friendly with terrorists.
Kerry Kennedy's bio states that she led delegations to Gaza and she met with Palestinian Arab activists via the RFK Center, which despite the fact that Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian Arab, spends a surprising amount of time promoting his killer's nationalism and bashing Israel.
#7
A drug expert testified Thursday that Kerry Kennedy, daughter of assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy, might have had an episode of "sleep driving" when she sideswiped a truck on a New York highway in 2012 before passing out behind the wheel.
An opinion of the Senate Intelligence Committees Benghazi Investigation
by Junkiron
The Senate Intelligence Committee's long-anticipated and controversial report on its investigation into what happened at the American embassy in Benghazi on the night of Sept. 11, 2012, was horrific and depressing in its details.
But as a combat veteran the most disturbing aspect of the report was not the answers to the questions, but instead the questions that were never asked. Read the Full Article
#1
It has never been disclosed exactly who gave the order to abort the rescue operations. It is also important to understand that the order to abort the rescue operation was issued BEFORE it was known that Ambassador Chris Stevens was no longer alive.
Easy enuf to answer. It could have only been one man.
#3
I like that tag in this context Besoeker becaues that's how the current government folks are using it but it doesn't really apply to those that believe 9/11 or the moon landings were faked, or those that believe the Royal Family are lizard people or a whole lot of other conspiracy theories. There is a reason conspiracy theorists are generally held in disdain.
[DAWN] SLOWLY, the pieces may be falling in place -- again -- for the state to take a clear stance against militancy; for a meaningful and coherent anti-militancy policy to be developed; and for the policy to be implemented to a significant degree. Yesterday, the federal cabinet met and made two key decisions: requiring an unconditional ceasefire by the TTP for talks to progress and approving the National Internal Security Policy. Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features. If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!... the military continued its localised pounding of alleged militancy strongholds yesterday and on Monday a big shot of the TTP, Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani ...a Pashtun tribe centered on Jandola, in Tank district. They are the hereditary enemies of the Mehsuds, unless there are furriners or infidels around, in which case they share ammunition and targeting data... , was killed in North Wazoo, possibly by a rival faction within the TTP or perhaps even a assassination engineered by the security establishment (facts about events in North Waziristan remain as elusive as ever).
Still, perhaps the most relevant change that is again being witnessed is the politicianship taking a strong and clear line. Even the PTI and Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... -- long hawking a dangerously simplistic line on the origins and causes of militancy and terrorism in Pakistain -- appear to have come around to accepting the inviolability of at least one principle when the state negotiates with myrmidon groups -- that the snuffies must not be allowed to dictate conditions to the state. In now publicly demanding that an unconditional ceasefire by the TTP be announced before talks can progress, the PTI has added its critical voice to a growing political consensus on the issue. Unhappily, until now the issue of the state standing firm has been debated through the narrow prism of politics and partisanship. Be it the PTI or the PML-N, while they are the elected representatives of the people and between them run three of the five governments in Pakistain, they also have a duty to protect the foundations of the state itself -- and nothing could be more fundamental than rejecting the demands of a violent insurgency that wants to change the structural and ideological underpinnings of the state.
Welcome as the change in tone may be however, it will surely not be enough to defeat the militancy threat. For that, a combination of military power in myrmidon strongholds, civilian-led counterterrorism efforts in the cities and towns and a more responsive state when it comes to delivering basic services will be required over the long term. The National Internal Security Policy could be that starting point to a holistic approach -- but it will only work if the aims are realistic and are rooted in a gradual strengthening of institutions. Ultimately, a pervasive and complex threat like militancy with roots in the wider public cannot be defeated by fiat. It will only be progressively eliminated if society is nudged along a progressive path and the state is made more responsive to the needs of the citizenry.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] ON any given night in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , the sound of gunfire booms through the darkness. It is a familiar sound whose regularity lulls the city's restless children to sleep. Gunfire accompanies weddings, the stoic tell themselves, if they happen to be awake. In Karachi, the sounds of terror have become mixed up with the sounds of celebration.
The extent to which one hears the sounds of terror or feels the impact of the war against it also depends on whether one's windows are open. In the muted, air-conditioned world of the wealthy, wars appear distant, the background to their own constant and unstoppable mirth.
In recent days, when talks with the Taliban, continued bombings, and failure of talks have grabbed headlines, advertisements for luxury cars etc have occupied equal space.
Newspapers are not the only ones providing evidence of just how far away terror's threats are to Pakistain's wealthy. Karachi's newly opened malls teem with shoppers. The prices are high, but so are the sales; the details of the latest air strike in the tribal areas and the latest twist in the saga of talks with the Taliban seem the problems of another place.
Pakistain has been at war with terror for over a decade now, and in the meantime, its citizens, at least its very wealthy citizens, have found many ways of putting distance between themselves and the country's problems. For kidnappings there are armed guards, for drive-by shootings there are bullet proof cars, the lack of public entertainment is not a problem for those who throw lavish private parties.
Those are the ways of the rich and in status-conscious Pakistain they are popular. In order to be seen as rich, no part of life must be imagined as affected by the numerous inconveniences of a country at war.
No kaboom, no killing, no series of attacks, hence, is egregious enough for a dinner to be cancelled or delayed, let alone months-long wedding preparations and celebrations for which planners have already been hired, security already arranged, millions already spent.
Being 'unaffected' by terror has emerged hence, as a status symbol. The less you pay terror's costs, the more you can project just how little you need a functioning state, how happily insulated you are from the humdrum, the common, the ordinary. Those are all bad words dreaded by some even more than terrorism itself.
There are of course many millions in the country who cannot insulate themselves from terrorism or even engage in the pretence of doing so. The vast majority of Karachi's 18 million population that regularly suffers bans on riding double are one constituency.
Few considering the purchase of prominently advertised Porsches and BMWs and imagining themselves abroad as they traipse up and down the corridors of oceanfront malls even know what such bans mean.
To the many millions who do, the ban on two men riding a cycle of violence means complications in an already complex game of survival, the sudden inability to get a ride to a faraway job. To their families, it is the difference between an empty stomach and a full one. Those are the proximate effects; others include the unnamed victims in daily hospital morgues -- the more immediate casualties. The country has so many of those, over 40,000, whose families and dispossessed heirs cannot pretend to ignore terrorism.
When habits and behaviour are copied they become social norms, which in turn promote larger trends of societal behaviour. While successive governments have come under fire for ignoring the growing scourge within the country, scant attention has been paid to how ignoring terrorism has become an emerging social norm among the more endowed.
Social norms not only encourage emulation, they also drive cultural production. It is not too surprising then that when festivals celebrating this or that heritage are arranged in Pakistain, they take place in a contextual vacuum.
Their large budgets highlight this or that aspect of the musical, cultural or literary heritage of one or another part of the country, but never quite mention the elephant in the room or manage a formidable response to it.
According to recent statistics by the interior ministry, in the years between 2001 and 2013, Pakistain has seen 13,721 terrorist attacks, and is second only to Iraq as the country most in the throes of terrorist violence. Data released by the US National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror shows that in the year 2012, Pakistain surpassed even Afghanistan and Iraq in the total number of terror attacks.
Despite these numbers, not a single memorial has been constructed to the victims of terrorism in any part of Pakistain. It's a telling omission -- it shows a country that considers innocent lives as expendable.
Much analysis has been done in Pakistain on the origins and proclivities of our many brands of terrorist groups, the necessity of this or that government action and the possibility now of co-opting current bully boy enemies by conducting peace talks. Despite this surfeit of analysis and awareness, little discussion exists on the fact that 'terror' like much else is also a class issue in Pakistain, a burden that disproportionately victimises the poor, leaving the rich absolved, unaffected and able to imagine that they live in a land without fear, where ignoring terrorism is cool.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] THERE'S a certain degree of inevitability about the latest military strikes on the bully boys' hideouts in North Wazoo. The Sharif government was left with no choice but to suspend the peace charade following the Taliban's slaughtering of the FC soldiers. Air force jets have been pounding suspected terrorist camps since then, reportedly taking out several bully boy commanders.
Yet, there seems to be no comprehensible strategy behind the latest targeted bombings. It is still unclear whether the blitz is the beginning of a full-fledged operation to dislodge the TTP from its stronghold or retaliatory action to settle scores to be followed by a return to the dialogue mantra.
Also, there's no indication yet of the civilian leadership showing resolve to take the battle to its conclusion. It seems quite plausible that it was pressure from the military that forced the government to give its consent to the surgical strikes.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
02/27/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Thought they were talking about Obama.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/27/2014 18:52 Comments ||
Top||
These aren't the crazy years. These are the completely insane, run around with your pants on your head, saluting weasels years.
No, listen to me -- there is a great mental illness striding the land. Almost everyone is interested in things they shouldn't give two hoots about. And at least half the people want to live in a society of clones.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Yes, and a cup of black koffee please. 
An opinion of the Senate Intelligence Committees Benghazi Investigation 
[DAWN] ON any given night in 
Wazoo
